Lumiere Blanche

Eau de Parfum

Picture a chalk cliff looming over a sea as still and metallic as mercury under a blazing sun… This is the picture selected by the renowned Italian photographer Massimo Vitali – whose work has been exhibited in major museums like the Guggenheim – as a brief for Lumière Blanche (i.e. “white light”).

To translate this concept of whiteness, but also the heat of the sun and the coolness of the sea, Sidonie Lancesseur has similarly played on olfactory contrasts. Coolness? A brace of cold spices like cardamom and star anise. Heat? The burn of cinnamon. This spicy cocktail livens up a soothing, creamy blend of almond milk, sandalwood and tonka bean: the almond and sandalwood produce skin-loving milky effects, while the almond and tonka bean pick up on the licorice-y facets of the star anise. Powdery iris and musks add another, different layer of whiteness to a fragrance which, unusually, has a slightly milky aspect. A beautiful, sensuous yet candid fragrance that might just turn into your go-to bottle.

Sparkling, citrusy beginning. It quickly turns into a soft, skin scent and I find myself having to bury my face in my wrist to smell it but it's lovely and worth it for me. Dry down is milky and comforting. Going on now for 3 hrs and I'm still sniffing away at the quiet, warm musk. I believe this would be very work appropriate as it stays close to the wearer but let's you have some joy to look forward to in your day.
I have given it 3 stars bc I wish it had more presence and sustain between the initial blast to the drydown- I felt like the heart is missing but that could be my nose- and I do not think this will last on me longer than 4 hrs. Pity.

By Lisa
- Happily Smitten from Winnipeg, MB
on 1/9/2017

If the photo described is truly the brief for this scent, Mr. Vitali's visual sense is rather odd. Fortunately, his nose is not. This creamy, spicy, lovely thing could be a cousin of long-gone Annam; what was rice milk there is almond here, and cinnamon and cardamon join the earlier scent's sandalwood and star anise, but the beautiful iris-tonka bean heart of Lumiere Blanche beats a similar rhythm. Drydown on me was subtle and slightly woody.

By Angela
- editor from Seattle
on 12/6/2015

It doesn't thrill me like I thought it would, the dry down is anemic, and dull.

By JCParodi
- Perfume Lover. from Brooklyn
on 7/7/2013

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